Strange Magic
by quizasvivamos
Summary: The mini-sequel to Wishful Thinking: Kurt is thriving in New York, excelling at NYADA, making new friends, and learning how to live with roommates. When a fellow former member of New Directions becomes a new roommate, Kurt's biggest secret is in danger of being revealed, causing him to have to make an important decision.


Kurt nervously drummed his fingers on the tabletop as he studied his script, too distracted to truly make any progress learning his lines. He wasn't sure why he was so on edge about the arrival of their new roommate. After all, he had known her for years. He closed the thin paperback book with a sigh before leaning back in his chair.

Seconds later, there was a loud knock on the door of the loft. Kurt sat bolt upright, his eyes now trained on the door as Rachel rushed over from her seat on the couch to let in the newcomer.

"Welcome to our humble abode, Santana," Rachel said, reaching outward for a hug but instead was met with a bag being stuffed into her arms and the handle of a suitcase into her hand.

"So, ladies, where do I sleep?"

"On the couch," Kurt said simply, shrugging off her demeaning address.

"Such generous hospitality," Santana said drenched in sarcasm, and then she strolled over to the sofa and dropped all her belongings onto the cushions and the floor beside it.

"I'm sorry, we don't really have much space here to begin with," Rachel said, a dubious expression on her face as she eyed Santana's things and then set down what she'd been given.

"It's okay, I'll be living the true New York experience, drifting, sleeping on strange peoples' mothball-and-Preparation H-smelling couches, and hoping all my wildest dreams and fantasies of showbiz, the Broadway stage, and being signed to a record label come true," Santana said, dramatically throwing her arms up into the air.

"But, those aren't your dreams," Kurt said slowly, his brow furrowed.

"You're right, they're yours and Berry's delusional pipe dreams because you're both so neurotic and self-absorbed that you believe you're some special snowflakes when in actuality you're just big fish from a small pond who found yourselves mysteriously on land, and now you're flopping around, gulping and choking for air, hoping that someday you'll grow legs and then sprout wings so you can flap flap flap your way up the social ladder and look down at all the little people below you and finally, _finally_ feel important."

Like a slap in the face, Kurt was rudely reminded of why he'd been so on edge all day.

Rachel stood there dumbfounded, impressed by how Santana had managed it all in one breath.

Kurt, who was less impressed with her completely uncalled for and unwanted opinion, simply sighed. "I'm retiring to bed. I have class in the morning," he warned. "So, please keep the noise level to a minimum."

"You have nothing to worry about, Hummel," Santana said. "I'll just be out here on the couch, quiet as a mouse, while you get your beauty sleep. Better yet, I might just go out."

"Do what you want," Kurt said nonchalantly and then shuffled off to his room - well, the little corner of the loft sectioned off by curtains he had fashioned himself from a patterned fabric he'd taken a liking to at the store -, and then collapsed heavily onto his bed.

His head hit the pillow, and he slid his hand up under it out of habit, his fingers grazing the hard handle of the object beneath it.

"I wish I had some real privacy sometimes," Kurt whispered to himself, knowing that with a third person occupying the loft, it might be something he'd never have the privilege of knowing.

The mattress beside him silently dipped with the added weight of another body. Then, Kurt felt arms wrap around his torso, and his eyes fell shut as a warm nose and face nuzzled into the crook of his neck.

"I could, you know, see what I can do," Blaine spoke softly by Kurt's ear, his voice deep and a little gruff.

"We've talked about this, and you know that's out of the question. We're not going to go repeating the past. From this point on, no funny business. No - cheating."

"I know, I know. It's just that it would be nice for us to be able to live together without keeping this immense secret."

"I can't tell Rachel and especially not Santana. It's just too complicated."

Kurt hated that he had to always speak in hushed tones and whispers, almost as if in Parseltongue or some secret language or code. He'd give almost anything for what he had with Blaine to be normal. But it seemed like nothing in Kurt's life could ever be quite normal. Sure, he had a magical boyfriend who made his life a lot more interesting, but the magic of it all was fast losing its effect.

-s-

"Your interpretation of Iago was fantastic," Adam said, his eyes alight with amusement.

"Thank you. I just felt like he needed a little more flair. I don't know. He does seem to be a bit of a misunderstood character," Kurt said with a shrug.

"I think you're right. Are you headed to Grimaldi's for lunch?" Adam asked, pulling the strap of his bag higher on his shoulder.

"Yeah, but I'm still so nervous about this audition for The Boy from Oz that I'm not sure how much of an appetite I really have," Kurt confessed.

"I'm sure you'll kill it, Kurt. Peter is, like, the role you were born to play," Adam said. "And I've never known you to turn down pizza, small appetite or not."

Kurt huffed out a laugh. "They do have some damn good pizza."

They walked the few blocks from the school, turning the corner onto the street of the pizzeria. When they entered, they were lucky enough to find an empty table, and Kurt quickly grabbed it while Adam ordered for the both of them.

They were halfway through their slices when Kurt, who had been zoning out, finally realized Adam was watching him.

Adam dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. "You seem a little preoccupied."

"I am, and it's not just this audition," Kurt admitted, his shoulders slumping. "I'm still having a hard time adjusting to a new roommate, and sometimes I think I'm too nice for letting her stay."

"That bad?"

"Santana roots through my stuff and has absolutely zero regard for privacy, and Rachel is always practicing for some audition or performance, no matter the time of day - or night. I haven't gotten a proper night's sleep in a while, and I wish I didn't have to be so..._careful_ about every little thing I do and say."

"I take it you won't be up for movie night then?"

"No, no, I'm still looking forward to it, and to you coming over. I've already bought all the snacks and found some of those super cheesy plastic popcorn containers that look like the less glamorous paper movie theater ones. That way you won't have that mess from butter leaking through into your lap."

"Good. It sounds like a lotta fun, and I'm looking forward to it too." Adam wore a wide, sincere grin that made Kurt feel a little more at ease.

-s-

Back at the loft, Kurt was grateful that Santana had made herself scarce all evening and was nowhere to be seen, and Rachel seemed to have gone to bed early after a day of vocal rest. Usually, she'd sleep with a face mask and earplugs, still not used to the sounds of the city outside, those to which Kurt had become accustomed. He thought that perhaps it might be something he couldn't fall asleep without, now that he fancied himself as quite the New Yorker.

He and Adam had watched one film before Kurt called it a night, and Adam left reluctantly, hugging Kurt goodbye before departing. Kurt didn't mean to end their time together so prematurely, but he just felt so exhausted, and he couldn't even focus on who was fighting whom in the movie or who was who for that matter, only finding himself becoming fixated on Hugh Jackman's abs when they'd unexpectedly graced his screen. He was sure it must have been a good movie, though he'd have to give it another watch at a later time.

Changing into his favorite pajamas and climbing into bed was ecstasy, and Kurt curled up under his comforter with his hand beneath his pillow as usual, his eyes falling closed almost immediately before he was startled and they snapped back open at the sound of a familiar voice.

"What's the story with this Adam guy?" Blaine asked, and Kurt could detect something in Blaine's voice he'd never heard before - jealousy. "You two looked pretty cozy during the movie earlier."

"There is no story, Blaine." Kurt rolled over to come nearly nose to nose with him. "You already know he's my best friend here in the city and one of the only guys I've met at NYADA who isn't catty and doesn't treat me like I'm just competition to destroy. Let's be completely honest, shall we? Who's been sharing my bed for months? There's only room for one person beside me, and it's obviously not him." Kurt pressed his index finger against Blaine's chest and then withdrew it.

"You have a point." Blaine sighed. "I'm sorry. It's just difficult for me sometimes, having to share you. And if we're being completely honest, then you have an entirely other life out there that I'm not a part of, and I never can be. How do you think that makes me feel?"

"Don't say never, it sounds so hopeless and depressing. We don't really know what'll happen in the future." Kurt was quiet for a minute. "I've been thinking a lot, about telling them."

Blaine shifted in the bed. "You have?"

"Yes. But I'll need some kind of ingenious way to go about it, because all they know is that you were my first love, and you broke my heart years ago..." Kurt looked down at his hand, entwining Blaine's in his. "They don't know that you've mended it ever since, and that it'd feel so empty without you."

A heavy silence settled around them, making their breaths seem deafening.

Blaine ran his thumb over Kurt's knuckles. "I guess I often forget that it's more difficult for you than it will ever be for me."

"I wouldn't say that, but it's definitely not easy. I didn't like feeling like a liar before, and I don't like it now."

Blaine pulled Kurt's hand to his mouth and kissed along his knuckles, and then he pressed his lips to Kurt's palm and gently squeezed his fingers.

"You've gotten so big," Blaine said, abruptly changing the subject, his eyes fixed on Kurt's chest and broad shoulders. He scanned the length of his body and then locked eyes with Kurt again.

Kurt's breath hitched under his gaze. "I know that your eyes aren't the only part of you that has been curious."

"I can't help it. I wake up next to you almost every morning when you're still asleep, and I just want to wrap you up in my arms and kiss every visible inch of your skin. You're beautiful, Kurt. My fingers itch to touch and explore you, to admire the man I'm so lucky to have this bond with. And it's stronger than ever."

"I know. I feel it too. I can hardly go to classes without feeling that insistent tug, like an invisible tether is trying to pull me back to you. Sometimes, even if I'm in a room full of people and friends, I feel lonely."

"I've been longing to touch you, Kurt. It's like I need to be with you. I've been wanting to -"

"I want it too, more than you'll ever know." Kurt moved in closer against Blaine, making him aware of his arousal.

"What's stopping us?"

"Nothing," Kurt breathed.

Blaine's eyes seemed to be ablaze for a moment, and then he grabbed Kurt's wrist and began to kiss along his knuckles again, dragging his lips across the soft skin. He mouthed over his pulse point and then continued up his arm, pushing his t-shirt up to gain access to his chest.

Kurt's heart rate quickened with each press of Blaine's lips against his skin, and he felt himself growing harder, his erection brushing against Blaine's thigh when Blaine took one of his nipples into his mouth. He gasped, his eyes rolling upward at the sensation, and then he pulled Blaine's hand down, guiding it to his pants and biting his lip when Blaine slid his hand beneath the waistband and finally, _thankfully_ touched him.

Kurt fought back moans, gasps, and whimpers as Blaine stroked him and worked him closer and closer, his body trembling as ever-building waves of pleasure washed over and pulsed through him and then tensing up as he reached a point where he felt like he might just burst.

Kurt tried to swallow and suppress the moan that unluckily escaped him when he came, spilling hot over Blaine's fist and partially in his pants and on his stomach.

Blaine kissed Kurt's chest and then his mouth before rising up onto his knees.

Kurt let his eyes fall closed as he laid there on his back, catching his breath. Blaine attentively cleaned him up, leaving briefly, and then climbed back into the bed to resume kissing him, tender and lazy kisses, and muttering _I love you_s against his lips and skin until he slipped into a warm, comfortable sleep.

-s-

"Morning, Alice."

"G'morning, Santana," Kurt grumbled, rubbing at his eyes before approaching the kitchen table.

"It sounded like you and the Cheshire cat were having quite the adventure in Wonderland last night." Her lips curled up into a grin to rival that mischievous cat's.

Kurt froze, his eyes growing wide, and he felt his cheeks begin to color as he thought back to the evening hours spent with Blaine that he'd tried to keep hushed.

"I thought he'd left after that horribly cheesy superhero flick, but obviously you'd found a way to sneak him back in. What's his name again, Oliver...? I bet he begs like 'please, sir, I want some mo -'"

"Adam! His name is Adam, and he's just a friend. Wait, were you here the whole time -?! God, Santana, you are _unbelievable_. He wasn't even over that late last night, and I'd never -" He groaned in frustration, but then he became flushed again at the memory of Blaine's face and chest and arms, the feeling of his mouth, lips, and hands...

"Then I guess I heard you putting on a one man show behind your curtains, and let me tell you, I did not pay for that."

"You don't pay for anything. For some inexplicable reason, we've been allowing you to stay here rent-free."

"My awesome presence should be enough of a reason," Santana said, flipping her hair over her shoulder with her hand and then smiling almost tauntingly at Kurt.

He groaned again, rolling his eyes and turning toward the fridge to retrieve the milk, and then he pulled out a box of cereal and a bowl from the cupboard. After he set his bowl down on the tabletop and poured himself some cereal, Santana spoke again, without looking up from the magazine she'd been paging through - one of his own she had nicked from the basket beside his dresser.

"Listen, Hummel. I know I've only been living here for, what, like two weeks now? Well, I'd like to have some lady time with Brits."

"But she's still in Ohio I thought -?" Kurt said, spooning his breakfast into his mouth.

"True, but I invited her to come stay for, uh, a few days."

"Great," Kurt nearly grunted after crunching and swallowing a mouthful of cereal. He dropped his spoon into the bowl, a bit of milk splashing out. It's not that he didn't like Brittany, he had no problem with the girl, though she was a bit odd. She was a sweetheart, but he wasn't too keen on the idea of having yet another person occupying their limited space in their tiny Bushwick loft apartment.

"She should be arriving this afternoon. She had a morning flight," Santana said. She peeled up a flap on a page and sniffed at the perfume sample, scrunching her face in disgust before proceeding to tear the page out and crumple it into a ball.

Kurt took a deep breath, trying his best to remain calm while she mutilated his cherished March 2011 issue of Vogue with Emma Watson on the cover.

"I'm glad you gave me so much warning. You're so considerate," he said in a forced flat tone.

"I know, and you're welcome." Santana tossed the balled-up magazine page over her shoulder, completely missing the trashcan.

"Does Rachel already know what to expect?"

"Yeah, about that. I need you to be a sweetheart and let her know about our visitor. You're her favorite gay, it seems, and I don't think she can say no to that pretty pony face."

"Of course."

-s-

If Kurt had felt crowded before, it was nothing compared to the claustrophobia he was now feeling with four people in the apartment. To make matters worse, Brittany never left unless she was with Santana, so those bright, gray-blue eyes were always on him, following his every movement, seemingly surveying and recording. He'd bitten his tongue regarding the situation until one day, after a particularly strenuous dance class that left him sore and miserable, Kurt finally confronted her.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you being here, it's - it's kinda creepy. Don't you have somewhere to go, something to do?"

"No. Santana doesn't trust me to go out in the city on my own. She says that I'd be the first to take candy from a stranger, and I told her, well, duh. Strangers have the best candy, especially Snickers and sour Skittles. Don't tell her, but I did wander down to Times Square and bought this ginormous bag of gummy worms." Seemingly from out of thin air, Brittany pulled a plastic bag of the sugary treats, promptly opening them to help herself. Then she held the bag out to offer some to Kurt. "Want some?" she asked, her mouth full.

Kurt furrowed his brow and then shook his head. "No, but thank you. I'm good. Really."

Brittany shrugged. "Okay. More for me," she said, and then continued to stuff the gummy candy into her mouth.

"Brittany," Kurt said, more harshly, causing her to pause through chewing and look up at him with a bewildered expression. "How long exactly were you planning on staying? Because I don't think -"

"You best not be yelling at my girl, Hummel," Santana cut in, having just exited the bathroom.

"I was not yelling at her, I was simply asking when she planned to go home. Don't you have school? Aren't your parents concerned about you missing it?"

Brittany shook her head, the gummy worm dangling from her mouth swinging with it. "I didn't attend classes for an entire year and got lost in the sewers one summer. No one ever notices I'm gone."

Kurt raised his eyebrows at Brittany.

"Puh_lease_, Barbara Bush, like it's any of your business to question Brit about how she spends her time or about, well, anything. I'm glad you're so concerned, but I suggest you take that concern and -"

With the most impeccable timing, the door of the loft slid open mid-sentence, and Rachel entered, returning from a trip to the little vegan market she had found recently. Her arrival shut up Santana who reached for Brittany's hand and pulled her up off the chair and to her side.

"Hey! Good! You're all here," Rachel said, beaming. "I was hoping we'd finally get to go on that Central Park stroll that we'd planned to do before Brittany goes back home."

Kurt, remembering an earlier conversation, nodded, thinking that at least the weather was presently nice, and it might do him good to be out in the open air rather than in the stuffy confines of the loft. It had been what was causing him so much anxiety. "Yeah, let's go," he said.

"Oh! Will I get to ride the carousel?" Brittany said, tugging on Santana's arm.

"That's for the children, but," Santana paused, taking a moment to see the excitement in her girlfriend's eyes. "If you really want to."

"Yes!" Brittany did a little leap and a body wiggle that Kurt couldn't help but laugh at.

Once they were out and had taken the subway to Manhattan, Kurt felt like he could breathe a little easier. Still, he had wished that a walk through Central Park could be the romantic retreat he had imagined it to be, but being along with the couple and Rachel just felt lonely.

Rachel must have sensed Kurt's melancholy, because she grabbed his hand and said, "You miss him, don't you?"

"Huh?" Kurt was caught off-guard, knowing that Rachel couldn't possibly know he was thinking about Blaine.

"Adam. I wasn't thinking, but we really should have invited him along."

"I just saw Adam, and that's not what's bothering me," Kurt said.

"You two could have gone to Bow Bridge together, could have had a romantic little date at the boathouse," Rachel said, squeezing Kurt's hand as she knocked into his side.

"Oh. Is _that_ what you think is going on? Adam is just a friend, Rachel. It's possible for me to have male friends that I don't want to date. Yeah, he's attractive and the accent is definitely a perk, but I just don't see him in that way," Kurt said.

"Well, I just think it might be good for you, since, well, you know," Rachel said.

"I know what's good for me, Rach, and I also know what I want. Can you please leave me alone about it? I'm happy right now, believe it or not."

"You don't seem it," Rachel said. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but I think it's time for you to move on, and, you know, to experience things with new people and date fabulous New York men."

Kurt, who had begun to tune out Rachel and turned his thoughts back to Blaine, could feel eyes on him again, and he turned to catch Brittany watching him, this time with a knowing smirk upon her lips. It wouldn't be the first time Brittany seemed to know something about Kurt and Blaine, strange coincidence or not. That was it, he needed to talk to her in private, and he needed to do it soon. Perhaps he could pull her away while the other two were distracted just to have a brief moment to say his piece.

When the opportunity arose, Kurt grabbed Brittany's shoulder and pulled her back to fall behind the others who were now in awe over the sea lions by the entrance of the Central Park Zoo.

"I need you to spill it. You know something, don't you? You've been watching me, and it's making my skin crawl." He was almost afraid to ask the next question, but it was something he'd always wondered. "What is going on inside your head?"

"It's not hard to see that you're a host, Kurt," Brittany said, as if it was the most mundane thing.

"A what? A host?"

"For a magical being."

Kurt stood stock-still, slack-jawed in astonishment from Brittany's words.

"It was him, wasn't it?" she said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kurt finally managed, still in shock.

"Blaine. You and him are an entity now."

"Yeah, how did you - I don't understand -"

"I tried to warn you before, but you wouldn't listen. I'm glad though, that he didn't end up being dangerous. I think you are truly in love."

Brittany smiled so sincerely that Kurt found himself cracking a small smile in response.

Kurt looked down at the toes of his boots. "I am in love." And then he looked back up again. "Brittany...? Do you - have you ever met someone like Blaine? Like, um, a supernatural being?"

"Of course," she said. "We're unicorns, and we were made for magic."

"Don't tell me Santana -" he said, the thought striking him. "I mean, that's impossible."

"No, not Santana, silly," Brittany said with a laugh. "My djinn is back at home. He's comfortable there. Our connection isn't like yours and Blaine's though."

"I wish it didn't have to be this way. I'm tired of keeping him a secret. I feel like I'm back in the closet again, only everyone knows I'm gay and I just can't openly love the one I want to love."

"I can help. He can help."

"You mean, your djinn?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"You'll have to come back to Ohio with me. I don't know how, but I'm positive he can find a way for you to be together."

"Okay, alright," Kurt said slowly, carefully considering what she said, realizing how desperate he was feeling about the situation. "I'll come back with you this weekend."

"Bring the object. What is it, by the way?"

"A wand," Kurt told her. "That toy Harry Potter wand I received for my sixteenth birthday."

Brittany stood there silent for a while, just staring wide-eyed at Kurt. "It's a good thing we talked about it now. You don't have much more time."

"Brit," Santana called over her shoulder. "Let's go see the penguins."

Brittany squealed and ran to her side, sliding her hand into Santana's and slotting their fingers together. Kurt looked on at the backs of their bobbing heads as they began to hurry ahead, and he took a few deep breaths before finally moving his feet forward to catch up with the group.

-s-

Warily, Kurt made the trip back with Brittany after receiving some of the most confused and dirty looks from Santana upon an attempt at an explanation as to why. In the end, Santana just shrugged and didn't ask any questions.

He'd never been in Brittany's house before, so he followed her cautiously, up the stairs to what appeared to be her bedroom since childhood. There were stuffed animals and decorations that seemed to have been there since she was six. But it wasn't the toys that caught his interest and held it once he was inside the room with the door closed; it was the very large, very real animal laying sprawled across her bed.

"Hello, Lord Tubbington," Brittany greeted the obese, gray tabby cat, kneeling down by the bed to scratch behind its ears. "I brought a friend here to talk to you. I told Kurt you could help him."

Kurt nearly choked, trying not to burst out laughing at the realization:

He'd come all the way back to Ohio with Brittany to talk to her cat?

He was almost certain he'd made a mistake in trusting that she actually knew something and wasn't just a few fries short of a Happy Meal. As he stood there and stared at the obese cat, he couldn't hold it in anymore. He was going to start crying if he didn't laugh, and it hit him hard, his whole body shaking with it.

"What are you laughing at, pretty boy?" the cat snapped.

This time, Kurt actually choked, his eyes shooting wide open at the deep male voice that definitely wasn't Brittany's and most definitely came from the cat. "B-but. Wha -?!" he gasped.

"What, haven't you seen Sabrina, the Teenage Witch?" Lord Tubbington said.

Kurt was rendered speechless.

"You act like a talking cat is completely unheard of."

Kurt stared down the cat, completely stupefied as if someone had hit him with a stunning spell, and Lord Tubbington began to laugh.

"Can you help him?" Brittany finally asked.

"Yeah, sure. What do you need? Just be quick about it, because I have a date with a bag of Doritos and some online blackjack."

Brittany turned to Kurt. "Kurt, go ahead. Summon him."

"Oh," he said, his fingers scrambling suddenly, fumbling to pull the wand out of his bag. "Oh, god, yeah. Okay." Kurt finally found the object, wrapped his fingers around the handle, and pulled it from his bag, holding it out before him. In mere seconds, Blaine had materialized beside him.

"Hey, uh, where - " he spun around, taking in his strange surroundings. "Where are we, Kurt?"

"Never mind that," Lord Tubbington spoke directly to Blaine, catching his attention. "I'm the one you're here to see. Blaine, is it? It's been so long since I've been in the company of another being like myself."

"Hello," Blaine greeted. "I still don't understand, though I know you're of my kind."

"I'm just like you, a djinn who has taken the vessel of a cat rather than a human. They may poop in sand and lick their own butts, but they're much cleaner than people. I'm perfectly content in this form," he said.

Suddenly, all of Brittany's strange stories about her cat, aliens, unicorns, leprechauns, and even Santa Claus, made sense, and Kurt observed silently and listened as they conversed.

"However, I can tell that you're still very dependent on your host, a problem that I no longer have."

"You know a way to, to break the bond without banishing me?" Blaine said.

"I do. And I've done it. While I am still connected to Brittany, I found a way to break the connection to become a separate, mortal entity that can exist on its own. I can love her, and I do. And she can still love me. Is this not what you also want?"

"It is, it's all I want," Blaine said.

"Me too," Kurt said, and Blaine looked at him and grinned.

"I can help you two do the same," Lord Tubbington said.

"I'll do anything, just tell me what it entails," Blaine said with so much desperation in his voice that Kurt's heart began to ache.

"It's actually rather simple," the cat began to explain. "All you need is the object - the wand -, to be in the location where you first made contact, and the first gift given by the djinn. What you'll need to do is wait for the next full moon, and unite all of those elements, and when you do, the bond will be broken, more or less freeing Blaine."

"The first object Blaine ever gave me?" Kurt said. "I don't think, I don't think I can remember what it was."

"I can," Blaine said, a large grin spreading across his face, tears shining in his eyes. "It was a grande nonfat mocha."

"You remembered my coffee order," Kurt said, laughing a bit at himself for something so small meaning so much to him.

"Of course I did," Blaine said with a laugh. "I created it."

"So then we need to be at the Lima Bean at the next full moon," Kurt thought aloud. "I guess it's a good thing I flew all the way back here."

"Yes," Lord Tubbington agreed. "Especially since the opportunity to perform this ritual expires after four years from the day the connection was first made."

"That's - that's next month, Blaine," Kurt said almost to himself. He felt his throat tighten up at the realization of their timing.

"We'll make it, Kurt. The next full moon is in two weeks. We'll just have to hang around here, maybe stay at your dad's house, and then, once it's all complete, we can go back to New York," Blaine said.

"Two weeks? But I can't hang around Ohio for two weeks. I have classes and a big audition this upcoming Wednesday." Kurt felt the panic rising within him, cutting off his ability to breathe properly. It felt like his world began to tilt, and, once his knees began to give out, Blaine, alarmed, reached out and caught him before he fell.

"I think you should sit down, Kurt." Blaine lead him to a chair by the bed. "Here. I think we need to talk about this." He was calmer than expected, though Kurt was sure it was forced.

"I don't wanna have to choose between school and you. I don't wanna have to choose between being able to openly love you and an opportunity to step out onto a stage as a lead in a major production that'll get my name out there to jump-start my career. Why do I have to choose? It's not fair," Kurt said hurriedly.

"Kurt," Blaine began, but he didn't have an answer for him. "I don't know why it has to be this way, and I'm sorry. In the end, it's your decision. No one is forcing your hand either way. I love you, I will always be yours, but where you go from here is your call."

"I want it all, Blaine! I want the role, and I want the stage, and I wanna be in New York and thriving and pursuing my dreams. But I don't want to go it alone. I want you, Blaine. I want the security your arms bring me, I want the rush I get when your lips touch mine and when we're wrapped up in each other in my bed. I want the way you're always there when I need you most. I want all of that, and I want it to be real." Kurt took a shaky breath. "I also know that there will be other auditions. I may need to be patient, but I'll only improve in time. I just -" Kurt stopped speaking, his lip trembling and eyes brimming with tears. "I made my decision." He lifted his face back up and turned toward Lord Tubbington.

"_Oh_, you two are so cute, you're going to make me cry," Brittany said, clasping her hands over her mouth.

"You seem like a very strong and confident young man," the cat said. "I'm impressed. You know what you want, and I can see the determination in your eyes. Performing this ritual, breaking the connection, will not mean that the magic will drain out of your life. Blaine's powers may grow dormant, but there is a power much stronger than anything he is capable of alone. And that power exists between the two of you."

Blaine turned to Kurt and grabbed his hand. "So, we're gonna do it?" Blaine asked. "You're going to stay?"

Kurt was quiet. And then he began to nod slowly. "Yeah. I wanna see this through."

-s-

The two weeks at Kurt's dad's house felt like months, like time had frozen when Kurt needed it to hurry up already. When Wednesday rolled around and passed, he sulked for days and kept to himself, knowing that he'd passed up a chance to star in a show that wouldn't have discriminated against him for how he looked, sounded, and carried himself. He tried his best to move past it and convince himself that there would be so many more opportunities and other roles, and perhaps it just wasn't meant to be his turn, not yet.

At least there was Blaine, and when Kurt was ready and the house was quiet and empty, he summoned him, and they laid together in his old bed, whispering to each other like they were sixteen again.

"It's tomorrow night, Kurt. Can you believe it? We're going for coffee tomorrow." He giggled at the memory of the start of their friendship, of the days of mischief and code words.

"It is hard to believe, though it seems so many things are becoming easier to believe now. My life has been absolutely crazy since I met you that day."

"Pizza," Blaine said, and then he giggled again. "We had pizza."

"That was some good magical pizza," Kurt said, and they both laughed until they were breathless.

They grinned stupidly at each other from their sides of the little bed.

"I'm ready," Blaine said just above a whisper.

"Do you think you'll feel different?" Kurt said. "Like, not like yourself?"

"I don't know. Maybe. But he said it wouldn't change me. I'll just be mortal, like you."

Kurt pulled Blaine in against his body and kissed his forehead, holding him to his chest and running his fingers through his hair. He wasn't sure why he was suddenly afraid that it wouldn't work, that something could go horribly wrong. Just as long as he didn't lose him, Kurt thought. He wouldn't be able to bear it. Blaine had become a part of him, like he was fused to Kurt's soul, and he didn't want to imagine the excruciating pain that would come if Blaine was suddenly ripped away and just...disappeared.

-s-

Entering the Lima Bean again after all this time felt strange to Kurt. As he scanned the tables, chairs, and counter, he felt like he was somehow too big for the place now that he had been away in New York. Then he realized that this was the place where all of the magic was tied to. It was an hour until closing, the staff was already cleaning up the tables and floors of the coffee shop, and there were only a few stragglers spaced out at the small, round tables who were milking every last precious minute for the free WiFi.

"What can I get for you?"

"I'll have a -"

"Wait. No need," the barista interrupted him, holding his hand up. "A grande nonfat mocha and a medium drip, right?" he said, pointing to each of them.

"Yeah, that's right. Good memory," Kurt said, though he didn't recognize the guy at all.

"Huh? I've never seen you two in here before. I only started a few weeks ago. I just had this strange feeling, like, a premonition that that's what you were going to order. Guess I'm a coffee psychic or something."

Kurt looked over at Blaine who was trying to feign ignorance and hold in his laughter, and then he rolled his eyes.

"Nice one," Kurt said as they took the seats opposite each other at the same corner table they'd shared so many times in the past.

"I couldn't help it. Besides, I thought it was one of the conditions of the ritual to be the one to give you the coffee."

"I'm not even sure if that was necessary, but I guess it's best to play it safe and cover all the bases."

"So," Blaine began. "What now? We're here in the Lima Bean, you have the wand, I got you the coffee..."

"I don't know. I guess we sit here and wait and...Blaine?"

There was no response.

Blaine appeared to be in a trance and was unresponsive, sending jolts of fear through Kurt's body and the worst worries through his mind. His eyes seemed to be clouded over, and Kurt spoke his name over and over again. Kurt reached over and grabbed Blaine's hand on the tabletop, feeling his eyes well up with tears in his panic. He squeezed his hand as he muttered to himself. "C'mon, Blaine, c'mon. Please come back to me. Please let this work. I don't want to lose you, I can't lose you. God, I love you so much."

All at once the fog seemed to clear, and Blaine turned his eyes up to meet Kurt's.

Blaine looked at Kurt like he was seeing him for the first time, his golden eyes filled with curiosity and wonder. And then he smiled like he'd just been handed all the secrets of the universe. Like he knew something big and important.

"Blaine?" Kurt said again after a long silence.

"Hey," Blaine said.

"Hey," Kurt answered.

"Hi," Blaine said again, and his eyes grew even brighter than Kurt had ever thought possible.

"Hi," Kurt echoed, laughing nervously. "You already said that."

"I know. I'm trying to get used to only saying hello from now on. It's nice. I like how it feels. Hello. Hello, Kurt Hummel. I love you - _oomph_."

Kurt had practically dove over the table, nearly knocking his chair over to get to Blaine, and then he was holding his face and kissing him like they'd just been reunited after months apart, desperate but tender as Kurt poured all his love into it and into Blaine.

And Kurt felt like something inside him was lighter now that their bond was broken and Blaine was no longer tethered to him, freeing Kurt from the influence of the magic that had shaped their relationship. Now, like Blaine, Kurt was completely free to choose to walk away or to stay.

And he chose to love Blaine and always would.

Kurt broke the kiss. "Well, hello," he said through a giggle. He leaned over and kissed Blaine again. "You're right. This is very nice. I like how this feels too."


End file.
